Who should Wrexham try to sign in summer 2023?

The Hollywood Club have just been promoted to the English Football League Two

What many considered a publicity stunt at first with Ryan Reynolds and McElhenney starring in a documentary series about them taking over the club from the Wrexham Supporters Trust has turned into something far bigger. Reynolds has stated that he has bigger plans on his involvement in football, and the two actors have immersed themselves not only in the club but the city of Wrexham itself. The pair have already helped club to get promoted after 15 years and they are determined to take the club into the Premier League.

This summer, with perhaps a bit more money available to spend after securing promotion, who should the club turn to as they pad their squad? There are so many big personalities and cults near the ends of their career who perhaps want to have a fun final season before bowing out. Just imagine Mario Balotelli or Zlatan Ibrahimovic smashing 50 goals in League Two for a nice laugh and appearance on Welcome to Wrexham!

Here we take a look at the top six players Wrexham should try to sign in the upcoming summer 2023 transfer window:

Callum Guy

Position: Central Midfielder Age: 26 years, Transfer value: €200k

The young midfielder is currently captain of Carlisle United and is already a leading figure for his team. He started his career at Derby County, before playing on loan at Port Vale during the 2016–17 season, and joined Blackpool the following year. He left Blackpool for Carlisle United in January 2020 and was voted the club's Player of the Year after picking up 14 assists in the 2020–21 season, at which point he was named as club captain. He has experience playing in Fourth Tier and could provide solidity to the midfield. Guy is an energetic 'box-to-box' midfielder.

Dele Alli

Position: Attacking Midfield, Age: 27 years, Transfer value: €10.50M

The former wonder-kid saw his loan spell cut short by Besiktas due to his work and training ethics and sent back to Everton. Once valued at €100M has seen a drastic fall in his career draft within 5 years of the span. He has fallen out of favour at his current club and they will be looking at getting him off the wager as Everton are fighting a relegation battle. His signing is a gamble but it can prove to be a need meeting demand criteria as his attacking attribute in the midfield could bolster Wrexham’s already on-fire attack.

It seems like he has fallen out of love with the game but it could also be due to the pressure and eyes on him to perform at the highest order since he was 22. This setup can prove to be exactly what English international needs to get himself close to the near best he once was. 

Eliaquim Mangala

Position: Defender, Age: 32 years, Transfer value: €700k Free Agent

This former Manchester City defender is without a club since last year after getting released by the club from the contract from Saint-Étienne. After joining Valencia on a free transfer from Man City he played for them for 02 years and joined the French team. His resume is pretty astonishing and his time at the English club for 5 years won Premier League and League Cup twice. The defender has enough experience playing in 04 different leagues against the best of the players in Europe and can prove to be a central figure in Wrexham’s defense which looks shaky to the counterattacks and set pieces.

Danny Drinkwater

Position: Midfielder, Age: 32 years, Transfer Value: €400k Free Agent

The former Premier League winner is currently without a club after being released by Chelsea in 2022. His move from Leicester to Chelsea of €37.90M dint panned out as he had expected as following the big money transfer he couldn’t find the game time in the playing XI. He was mostly used as a second reinforcement to his former teammate N’golo Kante. He has spent time with Burnley on the load and in the Turkish league but failed to find his form due to continuous loan moves and a lack of confidence.  

He could however prove to be a good signing as he has the experience and game sense to be the pillar of the young and firing Wrexham. He could be the link between the midfield and attack to play a supporting role in attack as well as defence.

Paulo Gazzaniga

Position: Goalkeeper, Age: 31 years, Transfer Value: €2.50M

With Ben Foster producing the heroics between the post there’s no doubt the 40-years old has redeemed the status of the club legend. However, his age is a factor that will need to be considered in the upcoming season. His replacement could be another former Premier League player who is currently on a loan from Girona to Fulham. Paulo Gazzaniga has struggled in the LaLiga format but has all the attributes to be a first-choice goalkeeper as seen during his time at Tottenham and Southampton. His transfer value can be a bargain to what Wrexham will be paying because of his reflex and goalkeeping traits

Gareth Bale

Position: Right Winger, Age: 33 years, Transfer Value: NA (Retired)

This would be dream signing for the red dragons that would send shocks to the football world. Bale have won every possible accolade at club level, has been the part of one of all-time great trio's of BRB (Benzema, Ronaldo, Bale) and casually hanged up his boots earlier this year after playing for LA Galaxy in 2021. From his legendary hattrick at San Siro for Tottenham to his wonderful goal against Barcelona in Copa Del Rey final which ended Marc Batra's career to scoring a bicycle kick in the Champions League Finals to achieve 03 peat (winners for 03 consecutive years) by winning Champions League for Real Madrid, every inch of this player shouts definition of textbook footballer.

https://twitter.com/GarethBale11/status/1650966429116628992

However, his love for Golf saw him switch between sports and going pro this year in Golf. His return to world football is unlikely but since shock signing of Ben Foster by Wrexham everything is possible. His presence in the team will not only upgrade the team but whole league around him because to see Bale playing football is like poetry in motion. His latest tweet exchange with Rob McElhenney where he congratulated the Hollywood actor for getting the promotion, has started the speculations of his potential comeback, we could see the Welsh returning to his country to join the Welsh team. Wales, Wrexham, Golf in that order, Maybe?